New Mexico Expungement

New Mexico Expungement
Expungement in the state of New Mexico means destroying any records, samples, identification of, and information towards any DNA records. When a case's final disposition cannot be located, the individual's arrest records can also be expunged. Arrest records on file, in both the federal bureau of investigation and through the state police agencies, will be destroyed in these circumstances. Juvenile case records and index references can be deleted. After this all law enforcement agencies, departments, officers, and the court will then acknowledge that the arrest record no longer exists.

Only certain records can be expunged beside DNA records. In juvenile cases, all records will be eliminated and will include petition judgments, social and legal files, records of the court, and any findings. The court can also be petitioned to eliminate all law enforcement files in relation to the juvenile case. Offenses that have been committed for those over eighteen years of age and have been dismissed under New Mexico law 30-31-28 can be expunged and will not be available for public viewing. These files include plea of guilty, trial records, indictment, record of arrest, discharge records, dismissal records, and any other information, except the non-public files that are to be kept by the attorney general. Expungement is possible when there has not been a location of a final disposition. Here expungement is removing any notion from federal bureau of investigation records or state records that an arrest happened.

New Mexico Expungement Eligibility
Only certain individuals are subject to expungement in the state of New Mexico. These include any individuals who were arrest for a petty misdemeanor or a simple misdemeanor and where there is no location of a final disposition; first-time drug offenders under the age of eighteen where charges were dismissed and who were later discharged; any individuals whose convictions were reversed due to DNA evidence; and any individuals who under the Children's Code after two year's time have not been convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony due to delinquency or moral turpitude.

New Mexico Expungement Process
When a final disposition cannot be located, a file can then be expunged through the law enforcement department where the case was originally handled. This jurisdiction will have full access to the records and will be in charge of maintaining the records. DNA record expungement can be done through a petition to the proper administrative agencies holding the files. The petition must include a personal request for the elimination of DNA records and DNA samples; an official copy of the court order that states that the conviction where samples were taken was reversed; an official copy of the nolle prosequi, dismissal, conditional discharge, acquittal, completion of a diversion program, or the misdemeanor conviction; and a document that states that no subsequent felony charges exist or have been brought since one year of the arrest for which the petition is to be expunged. Juvenile cases can be petitioned if the individual was under the age of eighteen at the time of the offense. These petitions are to be sent to the court with the jurisdiction of the records.

See also:
New Mexico Misdemeanors External link (opens in new window)
New Mexico Felony External link (opens in new window)
New Mexico Gun Laws External link (opens in new window)